Registration for the Spring 2015 Civil Dialogue Facilitator Training program is now closed. If you are interested in a future training session, please sign up for our email list and watch for announcements.

Course Description

You are a good candidate for this course if you are concerned about the lack of civility in public communication and feel called to do something about it. There is no question that your service is needed.

Americans are growing farther apart ideologically. A recent study from the Pew Research Center showed that many citizens are increasingly hostile toward those who hold points of view that are different from than their own. Media outlets exacerbate the problem: opinions are often cloaked as news, and audiences are highly selective—seeking only validation, not information.

Meanwhile, calls for restoring civility in public discourse are coming from all sides, including President Barack Obama, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren. But most people don’t know where or how to start turning the tide.

By learning how to facilitate Civil Dialogue (CD) events, you can help ensure that civility gains traction in your community.

The unique CD format and process can be a useful tool for teachers, ministers, librarians, mediators, arbitrators, and civic volunteers—anyone who is in a position to lead a discussion of “hot topics” with “cool heads.”

CD is used to create civil spaces for productive, facilitated dialogue among people with diverse positions and identities. The goal of the CD format is to acknowledge and understand differences on controversial topics, not necessarily to achieve agreement or consensus. (CD can be foundational in a community’s effort to reach consensus on an issue, by modeling civility as a first and essential step.)

This course will teach the skills needed to facilitate CD events. Trainees will become familiar with Communication theories that inform and support the CD concept, learn about the process of planning and preparing a CD event, be specifically trained in facilitation techniques for handling strategic provocation and controversy. Trainees will learn about contexts where CD can be used to enhance civil communication and promote community conversations. To complete certification, trainees will produce and conduct three Civil Dialogue events, observed and critiqued by The Institute for Civil Dialogue.

Civil Dialogue is a program and format provided by The Institute for Civil DialogueCivil Dialogue® is a registered trademark